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3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

A MURLEY SB WING MACHINE.

No. 499,845. Patented June 20, 1893.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. A. MORLEY.

SEWING MACHINE.

No. 499,845. Patented-June 2o, 1893.

MMM!!! (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

A. MRLBY. SEWING MAGHINE- No. 499,845. Patented June 20, 1893.

u lnunumf UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT MORLEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO TI-IE LASKEY COM- PANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SEWING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 499,845, dated J' une 2O,v 1893. Application filed February 3, 1891. Serial No. 380,030. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT MORLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago,

fully set forth in the following specification,

reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figures l, 2 and 3 represent a front elevation of a sewing machine head, embodying my invention, showing the devices for raising and lowering the needle-bar and presser-foot in different positions; Fig. 4, a detail section, taken on the line 4, 4,'of Fig. l; Fig. 5, a detail plan section, taken on the line 5, 5, of Fig. 4; Fig. 6, a detail section, taken on the line 6, 6, of Fig. 4, looking from therear; Fig. 7, a plan view of the presser-foot, detached; Fig. 8,asection of the same, taken on the line 8, 8, of Fig. 7; Fig. 9, a front elevat-ion of the same; Fig. 10, a detail plan section, taken on the line 10, 10, of Fig. 4; Fig. 11, a plan of the machine bed, broken away, except at th'e front; Fig. 12,a bottom plan view of the same and the feed mechanism mounted; and Fig. 13, a detail section, taken on the line 13, 13, of Fig. 1l, with the addition of the presserfoot and needle.

My invention relates to presser-foot mechanism for sewing machines, the objectbeing to provide a presser-foot which will yield horizontally backward to inequalities in the cloth, so that the latter will remain smooth.

I will proceed to describe in detail the construct-ion and operation of a sewing machine embodying my invention in one practical way, so far as is necessary for an understanding of the present improvements, and will then point out more definitely in claims the particular improvements which I believe to be new and wish to secure by Letters Patent.

All the main parts of the machine may be of any ordinary construction and such of these parts as are shown in the drawings are of known form and type and will require no special description here.

In the drawings, A represents the bed of the machine, and B, the goose-neck or overhanging-arm and, O, the main shaft mounted in said'arm. The needle-bar, D, is mounted in the head, b, of the overhanging-arm, carries the usual needle, d, and is driven from the' main shaft by any usual device. The presser-foot bar, E, is also mounted in the head b by the side of the needle-bar, passing loosely through cross-heads or blocks, b', at the top and bottom of the head b and free to slide up and down therein. A bracket, F, is fastened to the lower end ofthe presser-foot bar, the bracket being angular and the bar socketed in its vertical member, f. The horizontal member f of this bracket is provided with a socket or recess, f2, opening out toward the needle-bar. The presser-foot, G, is made a separate piece and is mounted in the socket f2 of the bracket, being provided with an upright shank, g, which, at its upper end, is bent at right angles, so as to provide a short arm, g,`whichvis adapted to enter the said socket, as seen in Fig. 8 of the drawings. A pin, G', is secured to the short arm of the presser-foot andextends thence through the presser-foot socket out at the rear end of the arm f', being provided with a head on the outside to stop its sliding movement in the opening through which it passes. A. spring, g2, is arranged around this pin within the socket between the end ofthe armg and the bottom of the socket, which spring operates to push the presser-foot outward, but yields readily to permit the latter to move backward upon slight pressure. The arm f is also provided with a short slot,f3, below the bent end or knee of the presser-foot, .to permit the lat# ter to move backward, as just described, and to prevent the shank thereof from rotating in its socket. Preferably the arm f is also slightly inclined upward from front to rear, thereby giving the presser-foot a slight lift Whenever it yields backward in its socket. A collar, e, is fastened to the presser-foot bar somewhere near the middle of its length and above it is a spring, E', arranged around the bar between this collar and the upper block b', which spring serves to hold the presser-bar and foot down in proper working position under normal conditions. The collare is also provided with a lug, e', projecting outat one side of the head and below this projection an Ordinary liftingleve'r, e2, is pivoted to the head and provided with a cam, e3, adapted to act upon the collar projection, so. that the attendant may lift the bar at any time desired.

In the operation of the machine, the required lifting of this bar is obtained by special devices. A collar, H, is arranged upon the presser-foot bar a little below the fixed collar. This latter collar is loose on the bar,

so as to move lengthwise thereof and between it and the fixed collar is a light spring, h, ar-

to :ranged around the bar, which affords a certain resistance to the upward movement of the sliding collar. A cam, I, is fastened to the front end of the main shaft and is provided with a cam groove, t', cut in its front face. I5 As shown in the drawings this cam isa disk and is fastened to the main'shaft by a'pin, fi', passing through the cam near its outer edge at some one point and secured to the crankwheel, c, on the end of the shaft. In this inzo stance, this fastening pin also constitutes the crank-pin, by means of which the needle is reciprocated. A link rod, h', connects the collar -H to a lever, h2, which is pivoted at its outerend to the head and extends inward in z5 a nearly horizontal direction, being provided at its inner end with a pin, h3, which is fitted to the cam groove i and is, preferably, provided with an anti-friction roller running in the groove. The rotation of the cam I will 3o lift and depress the presser-foot and its bar through the medium of the horizontal lever and its connecting rod running to the collar H, the cam groove being shaped to give the movements required. It will be noticed that the collar H is connected to the presser foot bar by a yielding device, so that all of its movements are yielding and injury to any of these parts is practically impossible-under all conditions. It will be seen too that the 4o presser-foot and its bar will yield upward bodily independently of the lifting collar H, by means of which itis raised and that the action of the latter is first to compress the spring above it until its resistance is greater than the rg'sistance of the bar to upward movement, when, of course, the whole device moves upward.r The cam groove 't' is a circle most of the distance around the cam, but at one side there is a section, t2, nearly straight,

5o preferably curving inward toward the center of the ca1n, as seen in Fig. l of the drawings.

In the bed A is fitted the usual throatplate, a.

Ifhe feed devices are somewhat different from any in ordinary use.

Underneath the bed is the usual feed rookshaft, K, provided at its front end with a crank, 7c. The feed bar, L, is fastened at one end to this crank, as usual, but at its other 6o end is connected to a lug, M, depending from the bed and provided with a pin, m,which enters a short longitudinal slot, Z, in the feed bar. This construction permitsI the reciprocation of the feed bar, as usual, but it will be l6.5 seen that the slotted end has no vertical movement and the only vertical movement of thefeed bar will be a slight vibration upon the pin at this slotted end, due to the short oscillations of the crank to which the other end is fastened, as it turns from the position 7c shown in Fig. 13, slightly forward toward the throat-plate and then back again in the usual manner. The feed bar carries an ordinary feed-plate, N, fastened to it and arranged to move within the ,usual slot within the throatplate. i

The operation of these devices is as follows: vThe devices which lift the presser-foot are organized, so that while the pin of the lifting lever is in the'circular portion of the 8o cam groove, the presser-foot will be in its lowest position and rest upon the fabric. The feed plate has the ordinary reciprocating movement timed, as usual, with reference to the movement of the needle, the only change being that the feed plate is moved substantially in a horizontal plane. Now when the feed plate commences its feeding movement, the fabric will be held between it and the` presser-foot; butthe latter being yielding in 9o the direction of the feed,will move back with the plate, especially if there are any inequalities in the fabric, so that all wrinkling of the latter is effectually prevented; this position is shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, Where the 95 needle is just passing down through the fabric. .I ust at this point the presser-foot is lifted bodily, owing to the bend in the cam groove, which operates the lifting lever which enters the cam groove at this point, as seen in roo Fig. 2. The presser-foot being thus relieved from all friction will at once spring forward to its normal position under the iniiuence of its spring; this occurs while the pin of the lifting lever travels in the short irregux05 lar curve of the cam groove, but the moment. it leaves this section and again enters the regular circle of the groove, the presser-bar descends under the influence of its spring and drops the presser-foot upon the fabric iro again, as will be seen from a study of Fig. 3, i-n which the position of the parts is shown just as the .lever is at the end of the short curve of the cam groove. vIt will be seen l from this figure that the presser-foot has been I 15 thrown forward again into its ordinary position and is j ustready to drop upon the fabric; the needle at this point is still in the cloth, but is just on the point of being withdrawn and about at this point the feed plate makes rzo its back movement, so that the fabric is again clamped between the presser-foot and feed plate, which then move forward together again, as described, to make the required feed, the presser-footyielding in the direction x25 of the feed as occasion may demand during this movement. It will also be seen from the description above that the presser-bar is free to yield upward at any time during its depressed position, owing to the fact that the 13o collar, by which it is lifted bodily, is loose thereon, as already described. If, therefore, any obstruction passes under the toe of the presser-foot, the latter yields upward with the y bar to prevent breakage and they may be lifted by the attendant at any time, by means of the lifting lever, whenever desired.

In particulars of construction, I do not wish to be understood as limiting my invention to precise details as herein described and shown,

for changes may bel made in these features Without losing my principal improvements.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a sewing machine, the combination,-

combination with lthe bracket F, provided with a substantially horizontal socket f2, the presser-foot G, provided with a bent shank g, adapted to enter said socket, the'pin G', and the spring g2, substantially as and for the purposes specified. t

3. The'presser-foot bar E, in combination with 'the collar e iiXed thereon, the springs E and h, the collar H loose on the bar, and lifting devices connected to said loose collar, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

4. The presserfoot bar, in combination with the collar 'H loose and collar e fixed thereon, the lifting lever h2, the link-rod h connecting the loose collar to said lever, the springs E and h and the revolving cam I, provided With acam groove 'L' constructed and arranged to aotuate the said lifting lever, as described,

substantially as and for the purposes specied.

ALBERT MORLEY. Witnesses:

CARRIE FEIGEL, A. M. BEST. 

